“If your gut is telling you to look at the code, you should be looking at the code.” The operator leaned forward resting his elbows on his thighs. He’d rolled up the sleeves of his long-sleeved T and she got a peek at corded muscles and sun-bleached hairs on his forearms. It shouldn’t give her a little quiver. Not under the circumstances.

“Alex is my boss.” She sounded prim, which was a first for her. She glared at him to cover the fact that she was knocked off balance by everything that was going on, including him.

She pulled up a camera from a nearby factory that was obviously closed for the holidays. It pointed to the main entrance of its own building. She tried another. A drive-thru coffeeshop but again, it didn’t show the warehouse.

“I bet Alex Parker hired you for your computer skills, not your ability to follow orders,” the operator murmured softly.

She glanced at him sharply and he leaned back. His dark green gaze didn’t leave hers. “I’m assuming.”

Another feed was added to the main screen. This showed footage from a helmet cam of one of the HRT operators in the field. They’d reached the parking lot of the warehouse and were climbing out and immediately arranging themselves around the front door of the building.

Yael’s heart slammed against her ribs. Maybe they could save Anya. Maybe she could help catch this bastard. With a quick look at her boss, she went back to the code.

“I don’t see any vehicles at the warehouse,” the HRT operator stated.

Yael looked to yet another screen and it showed the overhead view of the building, presumably from a drone.

She realized the third HRT operator in the room was flying that drone.

“What’s wrong with the code?” Her current shadow prompted her again.

“I don’t know.” She blinked and checked the time on her computer. “Hey, what time did the auction go live?”

“Twelve oh three,” Alex said. “Why?”

“How long has it been running?”

“Twenty-five minutes. He usually spends at least an hour with each victim,” Alex replied.

Sweat ran down the side of her face as Yael grimaced. It felt like only a few seconds to her, but to Anya Baker it probably seemed like three lifetimes.

“What’s bothering you?” The HRT guy who’d latched onto her pushed again.

A shiver crawled up her spine. Reluctantly she said, “The timing is off. The running time of the code and the start time don’t match. It’s all out of whack somehow.”

The HRT operators on screen were following a dog now.

“The dog was given Anya’s scent,” the guy explained. “He’s great at finding people.”

Which was also her job although she didn’t use her nose.

She frowned. “I think the feed is delayed. I don’t think it’s live,” she burst out even though that didn’t make sense.

Alex frowned at her. “How do you explain the live voting?”

“Maybe he’s rigging the system?” Yael pressed her lips together. She didn’t know but something felt off.